In the depths of the worst recession in decades, with nearly one in 10 Hoosiers out of work, Indiana's townships have continued to stash away huge sums of taxpayers' money, much of it intended to help people in need.

Four years ago, more than 1,000 townships had stockpiled a total of $207 million in reserves. The combined surplus shot up to $294 million by the end of 2009, the most recent year for which data are available, according to a new Indianapolis Star investigation.

Even as townships hoarded more cash, they also helped fewer people. The number of Hoosiers who received poor relief from townships declined by almost 92,000 from 2007 to 2009, despite a surge in joblessness and home foreclosures.

In most townships, few people who knock on trustees' doors asking for help receive it. State auditors found that 61 percent of townships served fewer than 25 families in 2009 -- or about two per month.

The trend lines baffle even the staunchest defenders of townships. Debbie Driskell, executive director of the Indiana Township Association, had no explanation as to why surpluses have soared and emergency assistance plummeted during hard economic times.

Directors of social service agencies, however, say many people who are hurting aren't aware that help is available through the townships. The fact such aid exists isn't widely publicized and, in some rural areas, contact information for township officials can be difficult to find.

Because each township sets its own rules about who can receive poor relief, a thousand different policies are administered across the state. The different sets of guidelines, even within the same counties, create inequities in who is helped and how much assistance is passed out. Advocates for the poor also say the inconsistency confuses people who need help and discourages them from asking for it.

Problems with distributing aid on the township level have prompted at least one group that represents private charities, the Indiana Coalition for Human Services, to argue that the General Assembly should shift the responsibility for administering poor relief to the counties.

Yet, the harm caused by township trustees' decision to stockpile taxpayers' money in a time of need isn't limited to its effects on the poor. The excessive surplus trapped in townships also reduces the amount of money available to spend on other local government services, including police protection, libraries and parks.

Hundreds of townships have built up cash balances that are at least two times their annual budget, but many of them continue to collect more property tax revenue than they need. That means, with tax caps now in place, dollars that county and city governments could use for essential services are instead diverted to township savings accounts.

In a time when efficiency is more vital than ever, Indiana taxpayers are still forced to support a wasteful, ineffective and increasingly unnecessary layer of local government that drains resources from where they're needed most.

The days of padding township bank accounts must end, as should the townships themselves.